


A Moment Shared

by Darkland-Dog (Sretan)



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Short & Sweet, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 16:35:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17646374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sretan/pseuds/Darkland-Dog
Summary: Just a quiet moment shared together.





	A Moment Shared

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a little while ago, mostly for myself. I decided to just throw it up unedited so forgive me if you notice any weird mistakes.

It was quiet. Not in the comfortable silence way either, but it just felt so much more empty than it was. The post-nightmare haze always left her feeling worse than when she had gone to sleep. For once Luug didn’t seem to want to sleep in her bed either; opting to sit with Vex while he watches the television in the other room. The faint buzz of voices wasn’t enough to break the strange empty quiet that seemed to hold onto her room though. For what feels like eternity Aja tosses and turns, trying to settle down and get comfortable again. 

It doesn’t seem to help in the end. So instead she kicks the covers off onto the floor, grumbling. Sleep is pointless anyways when there are so many other things she could be doing. But if she gets up to go train with the blanks then Vex will surely notice. And Varvatos Vex always makes sure to remind her that getting a good amount of sleep is extremely important to training. Or something like that. Right now she doesn’t care so much. Sleeping only leads back to things she desperately wants to stop thinking about. 

Carefully she slides out of the bed, already unsure of what she should do. Or where she should go. Out? That would involve sneaking past Vex, and changing into human form. Her lower hands find themselves fiddling as she stands in her room. Maybe she should go find Vex, if only to ask for advice on how he manages to sleep at night. Does he also always lie awake as she does? It seems possible. But maybe he just sleeps in front of the tv. The internal debate rages for much longer than she would care to admit, with her every so often making false starts to head out of her room. 

Finally she just gives up, standing there and letting all four arms drop to her sides. It feels foolish to go talk to Vex about this, about the nightmares and fear she wakes up to most nights. A small part of her finds herself ashamed that she is so scared all the time. As quietly as she can she carefully opens her bedroom door, peeking into the hallway. The sound of the tv is slightly louder but it also is telling that Varvatos is so quiet. He must be asleep is the conclusion she comes to. Taking a tentative step out of her room, she stands there in the hallway. Glancing at the door to her brother’s room, Aja wonders if he also has trouble sleeping. There isn’t really a plan in mind as she takes the few steps over and turns the handle. 

He’s at least laying in bed, although from where she’s standing it’s hard to tell if that means he’s asleep or not.

“Krel?” She whispers, slipping her way into his room. The quiet click of the door behind her feels strange. It’s less sad quiet in here. Less strange and empty, not a reminder of how far from home she is. But it is a little annoying that he is actually asleep it seems. Or at least ignoring her. A few more steps brings her to the edge of his bed, and there she hesitates once more. Should she wake him? It seems a little mean to wake him if he is asleep. 

Eventually she settles on just sitting on the edge of his bed, feeling it sink with the weight of her body. Krel doesn’t stir at least, and she’s grateful that she hasn’t quite woken him up yet. For a long time she just sits there and listens to him breathing, trying to think of what exactly she wanted out of this. Maybe she should just go back to her own room. Instead she gets up and finds herself climbing into his bed. Finding her way under the blankets, she pulls him against her chest, wrapping all four of her arms around him. 

This was enough to get him to stir, letting out a soft little groan as she buries her face against the back of his neck. 

“Mmn?” The next sound he lets out is one of confusion as he begins to actually wake, and Aja is not quite sure what to say yet.

“.... Aja, you have your own bed.” He says finally, after taking several moments to observe the situation at hand. 

“I am aware.” She says, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice. Now that he’s awake she regrets this, but down in her core she knows she needs this. Something to just ground her, to keep her from feeling like she’s falling to pieces over and over yet again. Without thinking about it she squeezes him a little tighter. It seems that was enough for him to start to catch on. 

He doesn’t say anything, instead scooting himself so that she has a bit more room in the bed. It doesn’t take her long before she starts to feel her breath hitch, and the familiar stinging of tears welling up in her eyes. It’s still an unusual development, tears, but Mother had said it was a side effect of their restructuring as humans. In the end it didn’t matter how, because she found herself sobbing into the back of her brother’s neck. And unintentionally squeezing him even tighter. 

Krel lets out a small choked sound as she squeezes him yet again, now starting to get far less comfortable. A small wheeze escapes him as he squirms. 

“Hey! Are you trying to squeeze the core right out of me?” He says, his voice raising just slightly out of surprise. It was enough to jar Aja out of her tears at least, making her pause to think about what he said. Then a small giggle rises up in her, even through the tears. 

“Not yet I’m not!” With a heave she squeezes him yet again and rolls onto her back, dragging him on top of her. Krel lets out a small yelp, flailing as he goes. 

“You are the worst!” He whines, going from flailing to crossing his arms over his chest. “Just terrible.” 

Aja giggles again, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. Her grip relaxes enough to be less than a crushing force. 

“I am sorry for waking you up, I just….” Her voice trails off, threatening to go back to tears. This whole thing, this planet, their situation. It’s a weight on her, and the thought of how they are going to survive this haunting her. Krel turns in her arms now that he’s got some leverage to do so. The two sit there face to face for a moment, before he presses his forehead to hers. 

“I know.” He mumbles quietly. “You can sleep here tonight.” 

One of her hands cups his cheek as he pulls back slightly. His closeness brings a warmth to her that she had been missing when by herself. Gently she presses her lips to his, a kiss that is far from the chaste kiss between siblings. Their grief at least is a shared one, and a burden held by more than one person is one that is easier to carry. 

“Thank you.”


End file.
